By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Are you over the age of fifty and looking for a job? Maybe you are on the hunt for a new career path? Well through the Sherborn Public Library, the 50+ Job Seekers Networking Group is here to help!
This virtual program was started back in 2015 by Susan Kelly of SDKelly Career Services and Deborah Hope of Hope Associates, LLC. As word started to spread about this group and it continued to grow, Hope reached out to the Tewksbury Library to see if they wanted to offer the program. Fast forward to today, over sixty libraries throughout Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire share this program, hosting about seventy plus job seekers each session.
The job market and how we apply for jobs has changed tremendously over the years. For those looking for a new job later on in their life, it can be quite a difficult and daunting task. This is especially due to the vast expansion of modernized technology. While some may not want to hop on board, it is ultimately inevitable, specifically when it comes to finding a career.
The overall purpose of this group is to conduct a professional forum that helps job seekers network with peers all while being a part of a safe and comfortable environment. Kelly and Hope aspire for all those who attend to build new relationships while also developing skills and strategies that will help them in their career transition.
Hosted on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, each session has its own specific topic and is completely free to join. At a recent meeting, the topic of discussion was all about LinkedIn and how to create a meaningful and impressive profile. No matter what session you attend, you can expect to see a presentation about said topic, participate in an interactive workshop, listen to a guest speaker(s), attain access to hiring managers, engage with others in small breakout rooms, and have one-on-one coaching guidance. Each session lasts about two hours, either running in the morning or afternoon.
When talking with Hope about why she does this line of work and the purpose of these sessions, she went on to state, “Why do I do it? That’s a great question. I just love it. I do love the work and I’ve been doing it for eight years now. In terms of the sessions, we noticed that most of these people often have been working in the same career for twenty or thirty years and never had to look for a job or haven’t been in the job search market for years which is pretty much what this demographic is. So we really just help people see what the latest practices are for finding a job. For example, LinkedIn is not used by a lot of people unless they are told to, but with nine hundred million people populating LinkedIn as members, they should be. So we go on to help people do that along with other helpful strategies for getting a job.”
Searching for the right career can be stressful for anyone, especially those who have not gone through the process for over twenty years. Networking is an excellent step into the job searching process and can even ease the stress along the way. According to Hope, 85% of jobs are found through networking!
For more information about upcoming sessions of the 50+ Job Seekers Networking Group, please visit the Sherborn Public Library’s website at www.sherbornlibrary.org.
